The political cartoon in the July 31 edition of the Alexandria Times showing one rocket being sent into Israel and Israel responding with many of their own is false. In reality, Hamas has not sent one lone rocket into Israel, as depicted in the cartoon, but thousands.

Hamas is a terrorist organization. Its stated aim is the destruction of the State of Israel. Its charter calls for the killing of Jews wherever they live.

It does not want peace.

Like all other nations, Israel has the right to defend itself. It has the absolute right to take whatever action is necessary to protect its people. Moreover, Israel has taken unprecedented steps to avoid civilian casualties. It warns civilians of impending attacks and urges them to leave affected areas.

Tragically, there are civilian Palestinian casualties. This is in large part because Hamas uses houses, schools, mosques and hospitals to store and then fire its rockets into Israel.